Research building could help UAB obtain medical grants

By Jeffrey McMurrayAssociated Press

Published: Monday, January 19, 2004 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, January 19, 2004 at 5:57 a.m.

WASHINGTON - The University of Alabama-Birmingham has long been one of the South's premier medical research institutions, yet 16 other schools nationwide rake in more federal grant money to conduct health studies. University officials expect that to change soon.

Next year, the school opens a 327,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art biomedical facility. The $105 million building, half of which comes from the federal government, should more than pay for itself by attracting new National Institute of Health grants.

Researchers are hoping to tackle not only biological challenges with the new space but also a geographical one. Of the top 20 universities for luring NIH grants, only three come from the South: Duke University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and UAB.

Duke, at No. 8, is the lone Southern school in the top 10. UAB's lofty goal: Join them within five or six years.

"What's less important is the number," said Carol

Garrison, UAB's president. "What's more important is what it signifies. As one expands the research base, it means you're expanding the quantity and quality of what's being involved."

Three major research projects, each with numerous grant programs beneath it, will be housed in the building initially.

One focuses on rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other immune diseases. Another deals with osteoporosis and joint diseases, aiming to help patients who need such things as knee or hip replacements. The third seeks to better understand the brain, including how it responds to injury and disease.

Michael Friedlander, chairman of the school's neurobiology department, specializes on projects reviewing developmental brain disorders in children. He says the scientific enhancements the building provides are incredible.

The labs will be open air rather than enclosed, allowing investigators to flow easily from one to another. There is a huge facility to house colonies of mice and other lab animals. A device using a series of laser beams allows researchers to closely examine brain tissue, down to the individual nerve cell.

The university is expecting 800 new jobs housed inside the building and another 500-600 directly affiliated with it. Friedlander predicts grant projects will pour in.

"Each individual faculty member averages 2.8 NIH grants," he said. "When you look at new people we can bring in, it's not rocket science; it's simple math. We will certainly increase our impact."

Garrison figures it should come as no surprise that the building is being named after U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, who helped steer the $50 million federal share to go along with state, local and private money. The final $12 million is expected to be approved by Congress this month as part of a massive spending bill.

"This is going to be an economic shot in the arm for the Birmingham-Jefferson County area," said Shelby, a Republican member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "I've been told that the biomedical push could, once it's finished and in place, have the economic impact of a Mercedes (plant) investment as far as money and jobs."

The Richard C. and Annette N. Shelby Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building will represent about a fifth of the 1.5 million square feet of space at UAB's School of Medicine, but researchers are already referring to it as the star of the campus.

"We realize if we're going to grow research, we've got to grow our research infrastructure," said Richard Marchase, the school's senior associate dean for research. "It will clearly be the gem of our research enterprise."

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<p>WASHINGTON - The University of Alabama-Birmingham has long been one of the South's premier medical research institutions, yet 16 other schools nationwide rake in more federal grant money to conduct health studies. University officials expect that to change soon.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>Next year, the school opens a 327,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art biomedical facility. The $105 million building, half of which comes from the federal government, should more than pay for itself by attracting new National Institute of Health grants.</p><p>Researchers are hoping to tackle not only biological challenges with the new space but also a geographical one. Of the top 20 universities for luring NIH grants, only three come from the South: Duke University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and UAB.</p><p>Duke, at No. 8, is the lone Southern school in the top 10. UAB's lofty goal: Join them within five or six years.</p><p>"What's less important is the number," said Carol</p><p>Garrison, UAB's president. "What's more important is what it signifies. As one expands the research base, it means you're expanding the quantity and quality of what's being involved."</p><p>Three major research projects, each with numerous grant programs beneath it, will be housed in the building initially.</p><p>One focuses on rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other immune diseases. Another deals with osteoporosis and joint diseases, aiming to help patients who need such things as knee or hip replacements. The third seeks to better understand the brain, including how it responds to injury and disease.</p><p>Michael Friedlander, chairman of the school's neurobiology department, specializes on projects reviewing developmental brain disorders in children. He says the scientific enhancements the building provides are incredible.</p><p>The labs will be open air rather than enclosed, allowing investigators to flow easily from one to another. There is a huge facility to house colonies of mice and other lab animals. A device using a series of laser beams allows researchers to closely examine brain tissue, down to the individual nerve cell.</p><p>The university is expecting 800 new jobs housed inside the building and another 500-600 directly affiliated with it. Friedlander predicts grant projects will pour in.</p><p>"Each individual faculty member averages 2.8 NIH grants," he said. "When you look at new people we can bring in, it's not rocket science; it's simple math. We will certainly increase our impact."</p><p>Garrison figures it should come as no surprise that the building is being named after U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, who helped steer the $50 million federal share to go along with state, local and private money. The final $12 million is expected to be approved by Congress this month as part of a massive spending bill.</p><p>"This is going to be an economic shot in the arm for the Birmingham-Jefferson County area," said Shelby, a Republican member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. "I've been told that the biomedical push could, once it's finished and in place, have the economic impact of a Mercedes (plant) investment as far as money and jobs."</p><p>The Richard C. and Annette N. Shelby Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building will represent about a fifth of the 1.5 million square feet of space at UAB's School of Medicine, but researchers are already referring to it as the star of the campus.</p><p>"We realize if we're going to grow research, we've got to grow our research infrastructure," said Richard Marchase, the school's senior associate dean for research. "It will clearly be the gem of our research enterprise."</p><h3>---</h3>
<p>On the Net:</p><p>UAB Medical School: www.uab.edu/uasom/</p>